1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to holders, and more particularly to a unitary receipt holder having a novel integral hinged closure which may be attached to other articles.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
It is a common problem to keep and store receipts in a convenient location until it is time to refer to them in maintaining a record of expenses. Receipts for credit card purchases are usually thin tissue paper carbon copies of the purchase ticket. These receipts are commonly given to the customer in department stores and resturants, and the only convenient place for the customer to keep the receipt is to fold it and place it in a shirt pocket or purse. These receipts are usually carried about in the pocket or purse for days or weeks, or they are removed when the customer returns home and put on a dresser along with other pocket articles. They often get lost or discarded.
The credit card company sends a monthly statement showing the charges for a certain time period, and the customer may use the receipts he has been keeping for that time period to verify the monthly statement. The statement often does not give details of the transaction such as found on the actual sales ticket or which the customer may have written on the receipt. Some customers, for example, write the name of the resturant, the names of clients entertained, and purpose of the expense on the receipt which they keep.
Gasoline credit card purchases are another example. Until recently, the monthly statement from gasoline companies would include a copy of the original sales ticket. Now however, the customer only receives the invoice numbers, location of the service station, and amount of purchase. Under the old system, the customer could write in on the receipt and sales ticket such information as the license number of the vehicle, the amount of gasoline purchased, the vehicle mileage, and the signature of the person making the purchase. This allowed the customer to ascertain whether the expense was for business or pleasure, who used his card, which vehicle the expense was for, and even check his gasoline mileage. With the new system, the customer has none of this information unless he has his original receipt.
In summary, it is very important for a variety of reasons to maintain receipts for purchases, particularly credit card purchases in a safe convenient location.
There are several patents which disclose various holders and containers having hinged closures which may be used for filing and storing papers and other articles. Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 3,595,433 discloses a filing case card file with a drop front formed as a unitary flexible plastic structure and having a dropfront panel which is released when the filing case is opened. The cover of the case has a latch which engages an integral latch on the front panel. The latch on the cover comprises a lift tab which fits underneath an opposed tab on the front panel. When the tab is pulled outward, the resilient front panel swings forward.
Murdock, U.S. Pat. No. 2,278,011 discloses a paper pack holder suited for use as a sun visor in an automobile. The device comprises a cabinet mounted for oscillatory adjustment on a bracket carried by a support. The cabinet side wall has a slot for dispensing sheets of paper and a spring loaded plate for urging the pack of papers into proper position.
Mackenzie, U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,838 discloses an expandable file folder having a removable cover. The cover is completely removable and comprises a flat rectangular sheet of material which is attached to the file folder by means of fabric fastener strips.
Schoettle et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,537 discloses a tape cartridge assembly comprising a tape cartridge housing having a bottom wall, top wall, two side walls, and front and rear walls. The front wall is releasably connected to the bottom of the side walls. The top wall is a lid which is hingedly connected to the rear wall and the front wall and is foldable into two portions. The lid together with the front wall can be folded about an edge of the rear wall against the outer surface of the bottom wall. Lateral projections on the front wall engage recesses in the front edges of the side walls to form a releasable connection.
The prior art in general, and these patents in particular, do not disclose the present invention of a receipt holder having a hollow body formed of contiguous bottom, front, rear, and opposed side panels, and a cover integrally hinged to the top of the rear panel which is divided into contiguous top and front portions by a second integral hinge such that the cover is pivotal about its hinged juncture with the rear panel and the top and front portions of the cover are pivotal about the second integral hinge. A retaining tab integral with the front portion of the cover engages the interior surface of the front panel of the body when the cover is closed and is disengaged therefrom upon upward and pivotal outward movement of the cover.
A lifting tab integral with the front portion facilitates opening and closing of the cover. A fabric fastener on the exterior surface of the rear panel allows the container to be releasably attached to other objects for placement at a convenient location. The container may be provided with small concave detents formed in each side edge of the top portion of the cover which biasly receive small protuberances extending laterally inward from the top portion of each side panel to maintain the cover in the closed position.